Crisis Reverted: Another Side, Another Story
by DarkHybridChild
Summary: The "in-between" chapters of Crisis Reverted that did not fit in the actual story. These are the side-stories of the rest of the characters.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Crisis Reverted: Another Side, Another Story.  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** These are all the little random blurbs and chapters that don't fit in Crisis Reverted, but tell the story and development of the rest of the Konoha teams! I hope you all enjoy it.

* * *

"Have a good day!" Ino chorused to the woman leaving the shop. She sighed heavily once the door closed and leaned against her elbow on the counter, placing her cheek on her palm in boredom. It was a slow day at the shop, and she'd already done her training with her team, she was just passing time until it came time for group training with the others.

She blew her bang out of her face for a moment before perking up just a little as the door to the shop rang and she put on her best customer-winning smile. "Hello! Welcome to Yamanaka flower shop, can I help-oh!" She stopped herself when she fully looked over to see that the person was Shino.

"Hi, Shino. You here to pick up your family's order?" She asked as she stepped away from the counter and walked around it to fully greet the other.

The Aburame adjusted his sunglasses and shifted in his coat a little, giving a mild nod towards the young woman. "Yes, I also came to drop this off," He produced a jar with some kind of jelly inside of it and handed it to the Yamanaka girl.

"Oh! Yes, yes this is exactly what we've been needing! Thank you, Shino. Let me go give this to dad and I'll get your order!" She exclaimed. Shino nodded and the blond hurried off towards the back room. The male waited patiently and several minutes later she returned, carrying a small pot with some type of plant in it.

"It still surprises me how harmoniously our plants are with the Aburame clan's insects." Ino commented as she handed the plant over to the other. Shino made a quiet sound of thoughtfulness before replying.

"Plants need insects to pollenate them, and insects need the nectar produced by the plant; they coexist because of a common cycle."

Ino nodded. "Yes, I know. But it just seems...so uncanny how well they germinate and grow when in the care of your clan's insects."

"We take care not to let them over-feed, lest they kill the plant, and take care not to let the plant be over-exposed to the elements. Nature must be balanced in order for the highest quality of plant to be produced." Shino replied.

Ino's expression twisted with puzzlement before she gave a nod a long moment later. "Makes sense. I mean you can't just plant a daffodil in any kind of dirt and expect it to grow."

Shino's lips twisted the slightest. "Exactly."

The Aburame turned and began to head for the door. "Thank you, Ino."

"Mhm, no problem." She replied with a slight wave. "Take care."

"You, too." He replied as he left the shop, leaving Ino to once again lean against the counter in boredom.

Three days later found Shino returning to the shop.

"Here to place another order?" Ino asked him.

He shook his head. "No."

"Well, then, what is it?"

He seemed to hesitate, shifting subtly, but Ino caught it. She knew body language; he was nervous. "Hey, it's okay," She assured him with an encouraging smile.

He gave a minute nod and seemed to relax again. "I...require your assistance." He finally murmured.

"Huh? You need my help?" Ino asked, blinking.

The Aburame nodded again, elaborating further. "I've been attempting to expand my abilities and have been attempting to develop a new genjutsu technique."

The Yamanaka's brow raised. "Couldn't you go to Kurenai-sensei?" She asked.

He shook his head. "I asked her already, she said to come to you. The jutsu focuses more on the senses rather than the manipulation of the mind. Your family are experts at manipulating the senses of the body with your jutsu's."

Ino blinked, cocking her head to the side for a long moment, bringing a hand up to think. "Hmm... Okay! I'll help. Let me go tell dad and we can head to the training field." She replied.

Shino nodded. "Thank you."

"Don't sweat it," She chirped before she went to go tell her father she was leaving.

They made their way to the field and Ino stretched out, getting a few pops. "What's the jutsu like?" She asked.

Shino adjusted his sunglasses. "I've developed it to affect the sight, smell, and hearing to disorient the recepient. I can execute the smell and hearing, but not the sight."

Ino thought again. "Well, show me the seals you're using first, then we'll test it."

Nodding, the male brought his hands up and showed the girl the seals without putting chakra into it.

"Interesting..." She muttered. "Okay, I want you to try it on me. The combination looks like it should work, but I need to be in it to actually find out what's wrong."

Shino's brow rose. "You're sure? You may collapse if it actually succeeds..."

She gave him her best smile. "It'll be okay. Besides, I have you to watch over me, right?"

His fingers twitched subtly and he shifted again, which she noticed was nervous again, but he steadied himself again and gave her a nod.

Ino closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, opening them when she exhaled. "Okay, shoot!"

Shino brought his hands together and repeated the seals, this time adding chakra into it.

His insects seemed to swarm from him and created a tornado around her. At first, she was alarmed, thinking he was attacking her, but instead of raising her arms to block, she let the genjutsu take affect. Soon, she could hear loud buzzing noises coming from everywhere it felt like, when she sniffed, all she could smell was pollen. She started vehemently sneezing and she could feel her brain going on overload from the constant buzz. When she looked around, everything was normal. Nothing changed.

She felt herself starting to sway back and forth and quickly brought her hands up into the Kai seal. "Dispel!" She cried.

The genjutsu broke and she staggered for a second, holding her head.

"...Are you alright?" Shino asked, the barest hinting of concern in his voice.

"That's a pretty nasty genjutsu," She breathed. "Just wait'll you complete it. I think I found what you're doing wrong, though."

Shino nodded and allowed her the time to recover. Once she was feeling normal again, she nodded. "You're focusing too much chakra into these seals," She brought her hands up and showed him which ones. "And need to focus a little more on these. It's hard to add just the right amount to each seal sometimes, but it's crucial to achieving the right effect. Shall I demonstrate one of my genjutsu's for an example?"

Shino took her words in for a long moment, before nodding his consent. "Yes," He answered. "It would be beneficial for me to experience a similar affect. I will tell my Kikaichuu to not agitate my chakra so it won't disrupt your jutsu."

Ino nodded. "Alright. I'll only do a minor one; your smell and vision will be affected, you will still be able to hear me."

Nodding, Shino stood there and waited, silently communicating with his kikaichuu before he gave her another nod.

She made a few simple seals and cast the jutsu.

Shino found the world to be spinning for a long moment and when his vision cleared from the blur, he was standing in the middle of a flower-field. "What do you see?" Ino asked.

"Flowers. Quite a few." He replied dryly.

He heard her laugh and felt his own lips twitching in response.

"Now, smell."

He inhaled and a musky, heavily sweet smell assaulted his senses, making him feel dizzy and faint. "What is the smell, Ino-chan?" He asked.

"You're smelling pure, undiluted vanilla. Now, if I wanted, I could fool the senses into believing you inhaled something toxic, perhaps even make you see so and your body would react as if it really happened." Ino explained.

"The placebo effect," Shino deduced.

"Exactly." She agreed.

Shino brought his hands up and broke the genjutsu. "So the key is to focus my chakra evenly to all the seals?"

Ino nodded. "More or less, yeah. You also have to have the vision etched into your head with what you want them to experience."

The Aburame nodded. "I see. Thank you for your assistance, Ino-chan... It has helped me greatly."

Smiling widely, the Yamanaka shook her head. "It's no problem, genjutsu is pretty hard. It really is a wonder how Kurenai-sensei is so good at it."

Shino nodded. "She has very good chakra control."

"That would probably explain it, then." Ino replied, before looking thoughtful for a long moment before snapping back to attention and looked over at the other. "Hey, Shino? I've got a question about your kikaichuu."

Shino's brow arched at her as way of his asking for her to continue.

"...Well, uh," She fumbled for a second. "What does it...feel like? To feel them move inside of your body?"

Shino was silent for a long moment, making a thoughtful sound before shrugging a moment later. "That is hard to describe... When I was smaller, it was fairly ticklish when I was first infused with them and my body was adapting to them. Now, I don't so much feel them as sense where they are."

Ino nodded. "I see." She fell silent for a long while. When she looked up, she noticed a few his kikaichuu landed on her shoulder and were slowly crawling down her arm. "It does kind of tickle on the outside...is that how it felt on the inside?" She asked.

"Kind of. Like an itch you can't quite scratch." He replied.

She brought her finger over and let the kikaichuu craw onto it and lifted it up face-level and stared at it. "It's a beautiful insect, I had always thought bugs and the like were icky and gross, but... Spending time training with you when we were in the forest. I got used to them. I guess I found a new appreciation for them more than just being natural means of making plants grow better."

Shino snorted, the sound coming out amused before he shrugged.

She bit on her lip for a long moment. "Can I...can I feel what it's like? For you?"

"You're not afraid of the pain?" He asked.

She gave him a wry smile. "I'm a big girl. I'm curious and just hearing an answer doesn't satisfy me."

Shino nodded. "Very well."

The kikaichuu on her finger flew back to her arm where the other was. In another moment, the Kikaichuu buried themselves into her skin. She jumped, yelping out in shock.

"Shall I have them stop?" Shino asked.

"N-no. I just wasn't expecting that." She replied with a shake of her head.

She stared as the Kikaichuu finally disappeared into her skin and all that was left was a small, bleeding hole where they'd entered her skin.

"Focus now, they're moving." Shino said.

Ino closed her eyes and after several long moments, she felt the subtlest sensation of tickling, which made her want to scratch, but she refrained. She pushed a little chakra towards the two insects, and felt as they scurried towards that tenketsu. She felt herself smiling when she opened her eyes. "That feels...really weird, but, neat at the same time."

Shino gave her the smallest smiles in response. "Consider them a gift, then."

Her eyes widened and her head snapped over at him. "Huh?"

"You can learn to communicate with them; they will be of value to you when you do. Consider them a gift for helping me." He elaborated with a gesture.

"Oh..." Ino looked at a loss for words for a long moment before she smiled again at him. "Thank you. I will do my best to learn to talk with them."

"We should head to team seven's training field, now. It's about time for group training. Perhaps I will attempt to use that genjutsu on them." Shino suggested.

"Okay, let's go!" Ino agreed. Together, they began to walk towards the next field over.

After training, Shino escorted Ino back to the Yamanaka shop.

"Thanks for walking me back, you didn't have to." She said with a smile.

He shook his head. "It's nothing."

"Still, thanks again!" She replied, reaching over to take the male's hand and gave it a light squeeze in her gesture of thanks before letting go and she bounded inside, boisterously announcing to her father that she was back.

Shino stared for a moment, before he turned, slowly placing his hands into his pockets as he began his walk back to the Aburame compound, the lightest of smiles on his expression.

**TBC**

* * *

**DHC: **Hope you all enjoyed this. I find this pairing quite interesting, because I think they fit very well together. Well, here's hoping for some positive feedback on my take of the others' stories!


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Crisis Reverted: Another Side, Another Story.  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** And another side-chapter, I hope you all enjoy reading these as much as you enjoy reading the main storyline of Crisis Reverted.

* * *

Lee and Tenten were sparring in their training field, Tenten working on improving her speed and Taijutsu more as she trained hand-to-hand against Lee with Gai and Neji watching the two, Gai cheering them both on.

"That's the spirit, Tenten! Give him the good left-right!" Gai called gaily.

Tenten was tempted to roll her eyes but had no time to do as she ducked a kick aimed for her jaw and slammed her fist straight into Lee's back-calf, forcing the other to flip around in a round-house to recover momentum. She saw it coming and took the moment to jump away. Lee didn't let her get far, charging for her again in a barrage of swings and jabs. She was hard pressed to block them all, finding herself steadily backing up with each consecutive swing Lee threw at her.

She finally saw an opening in Lee's pattern and took a risk. She swung with all her might just as Lee swung and they both hit one another. Both went flying back from the respective punches and Tenten winced as she brought her hand up to rub her cheek. Lee jumped up and down. "You finally hit me, Tenten-chan!"

"That was absolutely beautiful! The clash, the speed and power! Magnificent!" Gai cried.

Neji snorted and rolled his eyes. "Your speed and power is improving, Tenten."

The girl blushed. "I'm really trying."

"It's paying off." Lee admonished.

"Would you help me with my speed, Neji-kun?" She asked hopefully.

Neji shook his head. "I can't right now," He said. "I've got to go meet Sakura and Hinata-sama to help train Hanabi."

"Oh..." She replied, looking crestfallen, a streak of jealousy running through her before she pushed a smile onto her face. "That's okay! I guess I'll just keep practicing here, then!" She replied.

"Good luck, Tenten." Neji replied before turning and beginning to walk away.

"I will train with you some more, Tenten!" Lee exclaimed.

The girl gave a tired smile to her teammate. "That's okay, Lee. I don't think I'm quite ready to train with you for a long time, I'm kind of worn out."

"You burn bright with the flames of youth, Tenten! Don't give up!" He encouraged, flashing her a bright smile before he began to leave as well. "Gai-sensei! Let us run five hundred laps around the village!"

"O-ho! That sounds fantastic, make it a thousand! Let us burst with the power of youth!" Gai replied loudly and the two began to run, all with Lee yelling that they should make it fifteen-hundred laps. Tenten rolled her eyes, smiling at their antics. It really was a wonder they didn't drop dead by the end of the day.

She trained by herself for another hour, but she was feeling like she wasn't getting anywhere. Finally deciding she needed some help, she made her way towards the Inuzuka's. Akamaru yipped a happy bark at her, wagging his tail when he saw her and she gave a smile at the little dog.

"Hey Tenten!" Kiba greeted.

She gave the other a smile. "Hi, Kiba-kun. Could you help me train some more? I'm improving in hand-to-hand, but my speed is still not where I'd like to be."

The Inuzuka boy scratched his chin before giving her a wolf-grin. "Sure! You up for some extra training, Akamaru?"

The puppy barked an affirmative and Kiba nodded. "Let's head out towards the forest training ground."

Tenten blinked. "Why there?"

"It's a natural obsticle course and provides good cover for sneak-attacks. This'll be a sure-fire way to build your speed if you're put into a situation where you must get out alive when being persued." Kiba replied.

"Oh," She replied before nodding. "I see. Let's do that."

Kiba had them jog all the way there to warm her legs up. When there, he put ten-pound weight-straps to her legs and arms.

"They may not feel like too much right now, but when you're pushing your body to its limit with running and the like, you're gonna feel it, and it's gonna hurt like a bitch, but it's how I got so fast so quick." Kiba explained.

She nodded seriously. "I'm ready. I want to become stronger."

Kiba gave her an encouraging grin. "Alright. Akamaru and I will go hide for a while and you start running around the forest. I'll start throwing kunai and shuriken at you to sharpen your reflexes as you do. Akamaru will try to attack you from time to time head on, okay?"

"Got it." Tenten replied. "Thanks, Kiba."

"Anything for a pretty girl, ne?" He replied with a wink before he jumped into the tree beside them. "Come on, Akamaru!"

The puppy barked and leaped off with his master, leaving Tenten behind blushing a little at his words before she snapped herself from the stupor and began to run, dodging around trees, jumping over fallen logs and avoiding brambles.

It was five minutes after she began her third lap that she was forced to skid to a stop and leap to the side as a hailstorm of kunai and shuriken rained down at her. She poured chakra to her legs as she jumped and dashed from side to side, weaving around the trees and did a couple of flips, feeling her muscles already beginning to protest weakly from the added weight and sudden movements.

A loud growl above her made her pause as she saw Akamaru leaping straight for her, canines bared and she cartwheeled to the side, mid-turn, she kicked out as Akamaru connected with her foot and sent the pup flying back towards the trees. She finished the turn and dove forward, sommersaulting to avoid a few more projectiles.

She was sweating heavily from just that, but she knew she had to push herself even harder. She jumped up and took off at top speed to get away. She could faintly hear Kiba's voice telling Akamaru something and could hear the pounding of his feet hitting and jumping from branch to branch as he chased after her and soon, she heard the kunai and shuriken whizzing through the air.

She dashed around behind a tree, hearing the weapons embed into the trunk of the tree and took a deep breath. Akamaru was a white blur of speed that she caught out of the corner of her left eye and was two seconds too late in trying to dodge and Akamaru sank his teeth into her arm as she raised it reflexively to block her neck, knowing that was where the pup was going to try and strike.

She cried out loudly and whipped around, throwing the puppy off and began to run again, hearing Kiba getting closer. She put her other hand over the bleeding wound, knowing now that they'd deliberately done it so that they could track her by smell. Like wolves to their prey.

Even though she knew this was an exercise, she was beginning to feel panicked. She ran blindly, feeling her body protesting even further and then she heard Kiba launch the next volley of projectiles.

If it wasn't for her survival instincts, she surely would have been hit because at the very last second, she'd just barely manage to twist away. But one got lucky and sank into the back of her thigh. She stumbled, reaching back and ripped it from her and dove behind a tree again for cover, panting heavily. She quickly unwrapped the bandage from around her other leg and tournequeted the wound before taking off again just as Akamaru caught up to her.

Lungs heaving, she began to earnestly run for what she felt like, her life. Desperation mode kicked on and she was like a frightened doe, zig-zagging in every direction in an attempt to get away. After fifteen minutes of running and dodging again, she collapsed to her knees in tears. "I can't!" She cried.

"I can't do it anymore! I give up!"

Kiba landed beside her in a minute, crouching beside her. "Hey, hey! It's okay. I'm really sorry, Tenten!" He apologized.

She was furiously trying to wipe her tears away, an embarrassed flush on her face. "I don't want to be so weak," She exclaimed. "But I can't do this."

"No, it's not your fault. I was pushing you too hard like my sister pushes me." Kiba replied, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay? That mark on your leg looks bad. C'mon, I'll take you to Sakura to heal you up."

She looked up at him and nodded weakly, allowing him to help her stand weakly. He took the weights off of her and pocketed them. Akamaru poked his head out of Kiba's jacket, sniffing at Tenten's arm where he bit her and licked it apologetically.

Tenten smiled watery-like at the pup. "It's okay, Akamaru." She pet the puppy before looking to Kiba. "Your sister pushes you like this?"

Kiba nodded. "Yeah, but I wear like, three times the weight and she's relentless." He replied as they walked slowly towards Team Seven's training ground where Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto should be training with Kakashi.

"I... How do you manage?"

"Endurance and stamina. You gotta learn to pace yourself and know when to run all out and when to conserve energy." The Inuzuka replied.

When they reached the field, Sakura smacked Kiba upside the head for his recklessness and healed Tenten up with a smile. "Careful next time, okay?"

Tenten nodded. "I just want to get stronger and faster."

"You will, but don't push yourself so far you get hurt." Sakura replied, before turning to Kiba. "And Kiba, she's not trained like you, go easier!"

Kiba looked ashamed for a second, nodding. "I will."

Tenten looked at Kiba and smiled. "I do appreciate the help. Maybe you can show me how you and your sister train?"

Kiba gave her a nod. "Sure, next time sis and I train, I'll invite you."

The girl nodded. "Okay! Well, I gotta go now, I'm hungry after all of this!"

Laughing, Kiba gave her a nod and a farewell and thanked Sakura again for healing Tenten before heading off back towards his home while Tenten began walking in the opposite direction.

Sakura watched, brow risen, before turning back to her teammates with a wry smile. "Shall we get back to training?"

Naruto spied her smile. "What's with that look. You know something!" He accused.

Sasuke snorted. "Only you would state the obvious, dobe."

"Shut up, teme!"

Sakura shook her head. "It's nothing. Just a woman's intuition." She replied airily with a wave of her hand.

Kakashi hummed at her, looking up from his book briefly, before chuckling. "Interesting," Was all he replied.

Sakura gave her sensei a nod. "Very."

"Am I missing something?" Naruto asked with a pout.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Idiot."

And the rest of the day passed by without another incident.

**TBC**

* * *

**DHC: **And there you have it. Dont'cha just love the insanity of my mind? lol


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Crisis Reverted: Another Side, Another Story.  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** And more side-story backdrops that will hopefully help you all understand when I mention certain things within the actual storyline of Crisis Reverted.

* * *

Naruto flopped back onto the grass, placing his arms behind his head to pillow it and gazed at the clouds.

Sakura lowered herself gently to the ground beside him to his right and Sasuke took his place on the blond's left.

"Y'know," Naruto began. "I miss Sai right now."

Both of his teammates blinked. They hadn't even really thought much about the future people yet.

"...Yeah, it is kind of quiet without him and Yamato-sensei." Sakura agreed after another moment.

"Hn, I'm fairly certain I could do without my clone's antics in trying to cop a feel." Sasuke replied wryly.

At that, his two friends broke out into pure laughter at the memory of Sai chasing Sasuke around, trying to feel him up, claiming that it was for reasearch purposes, which only made Naruto laugh more and exclaim that Sai and Jiraiya should have made an illustrated Icha Icha together.

"Oh come now," Naruto replied with a snort. "He's not your clone. He's more lively than you, teme!"

Sakura was giggling into her hand.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Maybe I'll talk to Baa-chan and Jii-chan about Danzou soon..." Naruto murmured. "We may be able to get Sai sooner, and it wouldn't be hard to get Yamato-sensei."

Sakura made a thoughtful sound. "Won't this mess up the future too much?" She asked.

"We've already fucked it to hell," Sasuke replied dryly. "What's a little more?"

Sakura rolled her eyes at him. "If you say so."

Naruto laughed. "I didn't mean at this very moment, but I believe the sooner we get Sai away from Danzou and ROOT, the less he'll be of a machine. You saw how bad it was when his emotional barriers were unsealed again, Sakura-chan."

Sakura nodded seriously and Sasuke frowned a little at the memory. His fists clenched subtly. "I'll kill Orochimaru and Kabuto both this time," He murmured darkly. "I'm not going to let the fourth great war start again."

Naruto reached over and placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder in silent support. "We won't let what happened last time happen in this timeline," He answered.

Sakura nodded. "Right. We've got time to prepare and be ready to counter all of the Akatsuki and Madara, as well as Orochimaru and Kabuto."

Naruto frowned thoughtfully. "You know... Call me crazy, but I've actually been thinking of offering myself to the Akatsuki for a while."

"What?" Sakura screeched and Sasuke's head snapped over with narrowed eyes at the blond.

"They can't extract Kurama from me, now that he's free; I have nothing to worry about. I was thinking along the lines of me knocking some sense into Pein and Konan. Since they're considered the God and Angel, they'd be reliable assets in helping us take out Madara." Naruto replied.

"And the others? How do you expect to get out of there alive, you idiot." Sasuke countered.

"Sasori no Akasuna is not evil," Sakura replied. "I'm pretty sure if we could get through to him, too, then his partner Deidara would follow him. That blond was pretty clingy..." She trailed off, thinking back to a particular memory.

"That still leaves Kakuzu, Hidan, Zetsu, and Kisame and the two girl Akatsuki members Kurama told me about." Naruto replied thoughtfully.

"Kisame would not be a problem," Sasuke replied. "I'm sure if Itachi and I went, we'd be able to either sway his mind or at least subdue him."

"That would still be troublesome because of how powerful Kakuzu and Hidan are when they cooperate. Zetsu is not much of a problem, either." Sakura replied. Naruto nodded seriously, thinking. "Still, that's more than half the Akatsuki right there."

"I can't believe we're even discussing the option of letting you go to the Akatsuki head on." Sasuke replied.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "As I said, they can't take Kurama from me, and more importantly, since we know what they're capable of, we can easily get out alive."

"I'm still not thrilled with the notion of just waltzing up to their base and handing you over, baka!" Sakura replied.

Naruto nodded. "I know. It's just a thought I've had. I didn't say I was gonna do it." He responded.

They lapsed into silence for a long while, a light breeze blowing by, refreshing the three as they relaxed there in the grass.

"So, Naruto," Sakura finally asked.

"Mm? What is it, Sakura-chan?" He replied, looking over at her.

"Well, um..." She didn't look at him as she asked. "How did you really bring your father back?"

Naruto sighed quietly. "I begged the Reaper to release him after I promised to let him reside within my body with me to learn the ways of a mortal if he'd teach me the knowledge of the world beyond mortals and their power."

Sasuke's brow ticked a little. "You made a deal with a demon?"

Naruto shook his head. "The Reaper isn't a demon. Why does everyone call beings from beyond our realm, 'demons'? He's already explained to me the difference in beings. He's a Shinigami in true form; a fallen tenshi, his job of the world beyond is to foster the souls of the dead that have made deals with him."

"It just..." Sasuke looked away. "It reminds me of the deal Shikamaru made, that's all."

It wasn't a secret to the other two how hurt Sasuke had been when the former Shikamaru had told him what the Shadow Demon had taken in exchange for power. He'd taken part of his humanity in exchange for some of the power the Shadow Demon held, making Shikamaru half-way immortal and he'd gained a significant increase of power with his shadow techniques and abilities.

Naruto shook his head. "No, it's not like that at all. We're like a symbiotic entity. He resides within my mind and has been teaching me about his powers and the powers of the other entities beyond our world while I've been asleep. Because of his power, I've gained similarities to a Kekkei Genkai."

Sasuke's brow rose. "Really."

"I've got something like a doujutsu where I can see the residual auras of the dead, sometimes actually seeing the spectral beings. I can hear them, too. So far, all I can really do is detect the lifeforce within beings. We haven't been working much on that yet. He wants me to understand the basics first before trying anything else."

Sakura looked a little thoughtful. "That's reminded me, why aren't your eyes...?"

Naruto looked at her with a grim smile. "Because they weren't my real eyes. When we reverted back, I lost my doujutsu because they weren't my real eyes. Sasuke's, they are Itachi's eyes, but because of his bloodline and the Sharingan being in it, the time-travel allowed him to keep his eyes. The Reaper explained this to me when I asked."

"Oh," Sakura replied. "So that's why I didn't have the Branch seal or my Byakugan?"

"Exactly why. They were not on your person when you were born." Naruto replied.

"Makes sense," Sasuke replied.

"Getting back onto my prior thought: Naruto, does your father know? About us being from the future?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Naruto replied. "He's in my body, remember? He has all of my memories in there, too. Not just his own."

"So...is he okay with everything?"

"He's... He feels really guilty." Naruto replied, frowning with sadness. "But I already told him I forgave him. I just..." He sighed heavilly.

Sakura laid down on the grass and rolled onto her side, pillowing her head on Naruto's chest. "It's okay, we know why you did. You're so kind, Naruto. You deserve so much more than what this world can give you, I think. You should be a tenshi."

Naruto laughed. "I don't think I'd be cut out for one, really. I have my flaws, too."

Sasuke snorted. "Got that right."

"Shut up, you. I don't see you being perfect, either."

"I'm more perfect than you, dobe."

"Yeah, pull the other one. My one leg's getting too long." Naruto replied.

Sakura laughed, draping her arm around Naruto's torso and hugged him tightly. "But really, we're here for you. I know it must be hard for you to walk alone without those you love with all your heart, but maybe this time around, you're meant for more."

Naruto was quiet for a long time before smiling a little. "Maybe," He agreed.

"So what should we do for the rest of the day?" Sasuke finally asked. "Kakashi's with your dad and Jiraiya, and Mom's at the exams, overseeing the genin."

Sakura made a humming sound. "Well, we've still got a few hours before everyone arrives for training, so... Hm..."

"Want to meet the Reaper?" Naruto asked.

"Sure," Sasuke replied.

Sakura nodded in response.

"Alright. Let's head into the forest, we don't need people seeing him. They may freak out, especially since the villagers are still suspicious of me after bringing dad back." Naruto sighed with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, I can understand. Let's go!" Sakura replied as she pushed away from Naruto and stood up, stretching.

Her two male teammates stood as well and they made their way into the forest to meet with the entity that now resided within Naruto.

**TBC**

* * *

**DHC: **...I crack up at the Sai thing, still. Seriously. But other than that, I hope the rest of you enjoy this.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Crisis Reverted: Another Side, Another Story.  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** And another side-chapter that has no real place in the main storyline, but will effect it later on.

* * *

"Sasuke, come on." Shikamaru said, attempting to reason with his lover.

"Shika...no. Just, no. I can't." Sasuke replied with a heavy sigh.

"Yes you can, dammit. I need to know."

"Please...don't ask this of me. I can't handle this."

Both looked one another in the eyes and Sasuke's were heavy with a burden that Shikamaru was dertermined to make him share.

"I want to know, Sasuke. I ineed/i to know. What was the other me like?"

Sasuke's shoulders slumped and he turned away. "I..."

"Show me your memories, if you won't talk." Shikamaru pleaded.

"...No." Sasuke replied quietly.

"Dammit, Sasuke!" The other hissed.

"It's too painful, Shika. That time is gone, I can't have it back. I'm here, you're here, this is enough for me." He replied.

"Don't bullshit me, Sasuke. I've seen how you look sometimes, how you compare me to your memories. I want to know."

Sasuke turned back, his expression was deathly serious. "I don't want you to know, so you won't be like them," He replied. "I compare you, because I hope to the Kami you don't do the same shit the other did. I owe my soul to the other you, but you... This you, right here in front of me, has given me more in a different sense. I want to keep it that way."

"You're fucking selfish." Shikamaru replied blandly.

"Maybe I am," Sasuke admitted. "But it's better this way, really."

"I deserve to know, Sasuke. You can't hide it from me forever."

"...If I show you," Sasuke replied, looking down at him, his eyes slowly morphing from black to the Sharingan. "...Then promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Promise me that you'll never do anything the other you did, or would. I have, not only my memories of him, but his. Well, his to an extent. I copied a lot of his memories every time..." His shoulders sagged and he looked away.

There was a heavy silence before Sasuke reached out, taking Shikamaru's hand and tightly gripped it. "Please promise me this. I don't want you to become like him. I loved him, yes, but I love you the way you are. I don't want you to become like him, because what happened to make him that way was my fault."

Shikamaru stared long and hard into Sasuke's eyes, watching the chaos that raged within the depths. Slowly, he nodded. "I promise."

Sasuke swallowed hard, before giving a small nod. Without warning the other, he pulled them into his mind and at once, a thousand projections ran through his mind like a network of knowledge and Shikamaru could only reel at how much information he was receiving at once, yet he was able to keep up and process every single memory the Uchiha projected to him. They were there for days with Sasuke making him relive every memory before he pulled them back out of the Tsukuyomi.

"...Do you understand, now?" Sasuke finally asked.

Swaying precariously from the after-affect of the doujutsu, the other slowly nodded, bringing a hand up to his head. "It...sort of feels like there's two of me, now." He murmured.

Sasuke sighed. "I'm constantly at odds with my former selves." He replied.

"Don't be. You're here in the now, let go of those others." Shikamaru advised, pulling Sasuke close to him by his hand and stared up at him. "You don't need them anymore."

"They are who govern me now, an essential piece of the puzzle. I can't just drop them." Sasuke reasoned.

"Then at the least, don't rely on them so much, you are you. The Uchiha Sasuke infront of me here and now is the real you, don't give in to those former shadows that try to mimic you."

"What did I say about not being like the other you?" Sasuke replied, eyes narrowed. Shikamaru gave a weak shrug. "I can't help it, his consciousness is here; it seems to only strengthen my own. I'm not going to make the same moves he did, I certainly am not going to bargain with a demon, but his mindset...was entirely focused on you."

Sasuke looked away. "I know, and I was never worthy of that."

"Bullshit."

"All I ever gave him was heartache and hurt in response to every thing he ever did for me!" The Uchiha hissed angrily. "The only thing I ever gave him that truly was my entire soul-"

"Itachi and Mikoto, I know. And I understand that, but never once did he blame or not love you regardless of what you did. Sasuke, I love you, flaws and all. He did, too. There's nothing you can say that will ever change those facts. Nothing, okay?" Shikamaru reached up, placing a hand on the others cheek, watching with a mild frown as the male slumped even farther at his touch.

"...I'm still scared I'm going to lose what I have," Sasuke whispered.

"Don't be, because this time, you're going to get it all back and more. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"It's never that simple, though. How do I know I can prevent, or even stop some of the things that will happen? I wasn't strong enough..."

"You're strong enough, it's not the physical, Sasuke. It's your heart." The shadow wielder trailed his fingers down from Sasuke's cheek to rest on the male's chest over his heart. "It's all here. If you want it enough and absolutely _know_ you can do it, then there is no stopping you. The other me saw this, I see it, Naruto and Sakura see it, too and are willing to go that distance with you to do it. You're worrying for nothing."

Biting on his lip, Sasuke sighed. "I... I know. But I can't always help the doubt and the worry that I'm going to fail them."

Shikamaru stepped closer and slid his arms around the taller, older male and sighed. "You're so troublesome at times..."

"And so are you," Sasuke replied dryly.

"Only because you've rubbed off on me."

"Oops." Sasuke replied, not sounding the least bit sorry.

To that, the other snorted before pulling away. "Yeah, yeah. Now, come on. I'm tired and I want to take a nap under the clouds."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but he was inwardly relieved that the other was at least trying for his sake to refrain from acting or being like the other Shikamaru. "Fine." He replied with a profound sigh, as if the very thought was tragic.

"Shut up," The other replied with a small grin before grabbing him by the arm and began to pull him towards the door, leading him out of his room and down the hall.

They offered a simultaneous good-bye to Itachi as they exited the compound before making their way down the street together.

"You know, call me crazy, but has Itachi gotten hotter?" Shikamaru teased.

Smack.

Sasuke backhanded the other. "Baka."

This only made the shadow wielder laugh. "I'm joking."

"Well, stop. You're terrible at it and I've half a mind to roast you to embers with a katon jutsu."

Making a sound similar to a mouse's squeak, Shikamaru picked up the pace, putting a three foot space ahead of him.

Sasuke grinned evilly. He brought his hands up and acted like he was going to make a Goukkyaku jutsu and in a flash, Shikamaru was hauling ass at full speed, running like his life depended on it.

"Paybacks are a bitch." Sasuke murmured to himself as he began to run after the other, not going to pass the chance up to torture him.

Besides, it wasn't every day one saw Shikamaru move like he was going to die at any second.

**TBC**

* * *

**DHC: **Hehehe, poor Shika. I'm pretty sure he's not going to be thrilled when he finally relaxes again and will sleep for an entire day to recover energy, haha.


End file.
